National SME Forum “Scale Up 2.0” connects SL’s SMEs with markets, finance and business support

The National SME Forum organised by The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce brought Sri Lanka’s SMEs and the wider  business ecosystem together to connect businesses with markets, finance, expertise and support for growth.

The Forum focused on supporting SMEs by addressing the issues that directly influence an SME’s ability to expand, including market access, procurement, standards and certification, investment readiness, financing and digital adoption, while creating opportunities for businesses to build new commercial relationships.

Held yesterday (11) in Colombo, Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development attending as the Chief Guest, delivered the keynote address.

Chairperson of the Ceylon Chamber Krishan Balendra delivered the welcome address, while Secretary General and CEO of the Ceylon Chamber, Shiran Fernando, shared an update on the progress since Scale Up 1.0, including developments arising from the discussions and insights from the SME survey conducted at the time. Country Manager for Visa – Sri Lanka and the Maldives Avanthi Colombage delivered a special address. Discussions examined how SMEs can access new domestic and export markets, connect with larger companies and supply chains, and meet the standards, testing and certification requirements increasingly expected by customers and business partners.

The forum also addressed the challenges businesses face as they move into their next stage of growth, including access to finance, investment readiness, governance, taxation and strategies for building more structured and scalable enterprises. Importantly, Scale Up 2.0 extended beyond discussion. Anetworking lunch and exhibition enabled SMEs to engage directly with participating organisations, followed by corporate networking facilitated through corporate procurement desks, thematic cluster tables and business advisory services.

These sessions gave businesses an opportunity to discuss procurement requirements. potential partnerships, sector-specific opportunities and areas where they needed advisory support.

By bringing SMEs together with policymakers, Corporates, financial institutions and business Support organisations, Scale Up 2.0 connected tne difterent elements of the SME growth ecosystem around the needs of businesses. (MFJ)

Source : Daily News